African-American Timeline

1492
Juan las Canarias, a Black sailor, serves on Christopher Columbus's
flagship,
the Santa Maria to the New World.

1527
Estevanico, an African slave, accompanies Andres de Dorants on an
expedition
to conquer Florida.

1540
A free African Spaniard serves as the interpreter on Coronados'
expedition
through
southwest North America.

1675
Juan Merion, a free African, blacksmith came to St. Augustine from
Havana.
By
1683, he opened his own forge, blacksmithing for the royal armorer and
private
citizens.

1693
King Charles II of Spain issues a royal proclamation giving
liberty
to all
runway in Florida who become practicing Catholics.

1695
Merchants Isavel de los Rios, a free Black woman and Captain
Chrispin de Tapia, a free Black man testifies in a court case
against several Apalachee Native Americans had given them
counterfeit money.

1738
Fugitive slaves from Carolina form a slave militia in St. Augustine.
Two
miles
north of St. Augustine, they build Fort Mose and a small town.

1763
The French and Indian War ends and Florida becomes an English colony.

1830
In Duval, Nassau, and St. Johns counties, slaves and free Blacks
comprised 52
percent of the population.

1845
Florida becomes the twenty-seventh state in the United States.

1856
T. Thomas Fortune was born a slave in Marianna, Florida. Fortune later
founds the newspaper New Age.

1861
Florida seceded from the Union January 10. The next month,
Florida
representatives participate in the formation of the Confederate States.

1865
The U.S. Congress established the Freedmen's Bureau to aid
African
Americans.

1870
Josiah T. Walls becomes Florida's first African American member
of
the U.S. House
of Representatives. Others African Americans politicians in Florida are
John Wallace,
Henry Harmon, Charles Pearce, Robert Meachem, and Jonathan Gibbs.

1883
Eatonville is the first all African American incorporated town.

1887
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College is founded to provide
higher
education
to African Americans.

1889
A. Philip Randolph is born in Crescent City, Florida Randolph organizes
the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, an African American AFL union.